Two American women have been “rescued from captivity” in Yemen’s rebel-held capital and flown out of the country in a joint US-Saudi military operation, Saudi officials said on Friday.
The young women were “mistreated and had restrictions imposed on their movements” after visiting relatives in Sanaa, which was seized by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in 2014.
“Two young American women were freed from captivity, evacuated, and transported from the Houthi-controlled Yemeni capital Sanaa to the interim capital Aden, and later on to Riyadh,” Saudi defense ministry spokesperson Turki Al-Malki said in a statement.
“During a family visit to Sanaa, the two US citizens were mistreated and restrictions were placed on their freedom and movement, and their passports were confiscated.”
#وزارة_الدفاع: تحرير مواطنتين أمريكيتين بعد تقييد حريتهما وتعريضهما لسوء المعاملة بالعاصمة صنعاء الواقعة تحت سيطرة الحوثيين ونقلهما إلى الرياض.https://t.co/Tlm6ykVySM pic.twitter.com/8YBLoS4aq5
— وزارة الدفاع 🇸🇦 (@modgovksa) March 11, 2022
The women were then evacuated to the Saudi capital Riyadh where they were met by US officials and received health checks, the statement said.
Yemen, the Arab world’s poorest country, is wracked by war between the Houthis and a Saudi-led coalition fighting on behalf of the internationally recognized government.